I use the term crisis when I'm talking about that time in our life.
My name is Mike Gjesdahl, and we have come into contact with Progressive Therapy because of issues that we had with my daughter, Sophie, and those issues really were taking over our family and our time, and I use the term crisis when I'm talking about that time in our life. We'd gotten to the point with her ADHD struggles that we had run out of options and didn't know what to do. Her ADHD showed itself primarily in an academic environment. She's a smart girl. We know she's a smart girl, but she had struggled for years for her academics to really shine. It involved a lot of our time. We'd work a full day and then come home and have to help with homework, and missed assignments, bad tests, missing projects, and disorganization.
What needed to be at school, was at home. What needed to be at home was at school, and it was just an endless spiral and we could never pull out of it. It was compounded by what we learned is a common coping behavior for kids who have those kinds of struggles at school, which is dishonesty, which was really upsetting to us. It would show itself by usually me being angry that an assignment had been missed that we had talked about, or some problem that I interpreted as just not trying or some kind of a choice that she had made, and that would make me angry, and the logical thing a kid might do would be to tell a lie to just get past the moment, and we definitely experienced that, which compounded my anger.
We learned later that that's just a thing common to ADHD kids who have angry parents who are misinterpreting their behaviors, but it was causing problems with our family. It affected the way we related to each other and our affection for one another, so that was what I called the crisis. For lack of options, I did something uncommon for me, which is I went to a counselor and asked for help, and it was the school counselor. She had another child that was the same age as my daughter, and she told me a glorious story about Progressive Therapy and a very positive outcome. They'd had an almost identical story, a child who was a sophomore, struggling with the same issues, but by the time I'd gotten there, that child was now a senior and was a wonderful, autonomous student getting great grades without problems, without parental intervention.
We see individuals with ADHD, traumatic brain injury, and concussion, as well as stroke.
When people think about speech-language pathology, they typically think about speech disorders or language challenges, which speech therapists can do, but here we've just chosen to focus more on the cognitive aspect, and when I say that, I mean things to do with focus and memory, speed of processing, planning, problem-solving, organization, all those daily skills that help you to really function and organize your life.
If you're someone who's struggling with attention or memory or planning for instance, for a variety of reasons, you can self-refer. You can pick up the phone and call us at 701-356-7766. You can find us on our website and submit your information and come for a free consultation, or your primary care doctor can also refer you for treatment here.
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Our dedicated team of speech-language pathologists are specially trained in speech therapy as it relates to cognitive-communication issues (how you listen, process, focus, remember, and communicate). We are also nationally certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, are nationally recognized by the Brain Injury Association of America and are Certified Brain Injury Specialists (CBIS). We are licensed to practice in both North Dakota and Minnesota. We believe every patient deserves the best treatment and support we can offer in every single contact and interaction with us.
We recognize that no two people have the same needs and that everyone has different learning styles. That’s why we like to call our approach “the Progressive way,” which means we will happily customize treatment plans to meet the unique needs of the individual and their family. We also believe in “the right fit” between patient and therapist, so will make every effort to match you with a clinician who connects with you, understands you, and utilizes a therapy style that is comfortable for you.
Depending on the goals you wish to accomplish and the learning pace that is most comfortable for you, we will arm you with the evidence-based strategies, proven skills, and ample support you need to feel more organized, prepared, and effective. Therapy strategies may range from recommendations for specific tools (such as timers or planners), one-on-one brainstorming and problem-solving to address concerns, therapeutic activities as well as computer trials or worksheets to help strengthen cognitive and executive functions like attention, memory, and planning.
We know that working on cognitive-communication issues is hard work and that it can be easy to feel defeated or overwhelmed by the challenges of building a more efficient brain. However, you will not be in this alone. We are not just speech-language pathologists; we are fellow human beings who care about you, your journey, and your success. We don’t want an appointment to feel like you’ve been sent to the principal’s office. Instead, you’ll find a comfortable space where you’ll feel listened to and understood. And because humor makes everything more bearable, be prepared to laugh and joke a bit too!